Aquinas's Way to God

Aquinas's Way to God
Author: Gaven Kerr OP
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2015-02-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0190266384

Gaven Kerr provides the first book-length study of St. Thomas Aquinas's much neglected proof for the existence of God in De Ente et Essentia Chapter 4. He offers a contemporary presentation, interpretation, and defense of this proof, beginning with an account of the metaphysical principles used by Aquinas and then describing how they are employed within the proof to establish the existence of God. Along the way, Kerr engages contemporary authors who have addressed Aquinas's or similar reasoning. The proof developed in the De Ente is, on Kerr's reading, independent of many of the other proofs in Aquinas's corpus and resistant to the traditional classificatory schemes of proofs of God. By applying a historical and hermeneutical awareness of the philosophical issues presented by Aquinas's thought and evaluating such philosophical issues with analytical precision, Kerr is able to move through the proof and evaluate what Aquinas is saying, and whether what he is saying is true. By means of an analysis of one of Aquinas's earliest proofs, Kerr highlights a foundational argument that is present throughout the much more commonly studied Thomistic writings, and brings it to bear within the context of analytical philosophy, showing its relevance to the contemporary reader.

Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil

Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil
Author: Brian Davies
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2011-08-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199831459

Brian Davies offers the first in-depth study of Saint Thomas Aquinas's thoughts on God and evil, revealing that Aquinas's thinking about God and evil can be traced through his metaphysical philosophy, his thoughts on God and creation, and his writings about Christian revelation and the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation. Davies first gives an introduction to Aquinas's philosophical theology, as well as a nuanced analysis of the ways in which Aquinas's writings have been considered over time. For hundreds of years scholars have argued that Aquinas's views on God and evil were original and different from those of his contemporaries. Davies shows that Aquinas's views were by modern standards very original, but that in their historical context they were more traditional than many scholars since have realized. Davies also provides insight into what we can learn from Aquinas's philosophy. Thomas Aquinas on God and Evil is a clear and engaging guide for anyone who struggles with the relation of God and theology to the problem of evil.

Aquinas's Way to God

Aquinas's Way to God
Author: Gaven Kerr
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2015
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0190224800

This book offers a contemporary interpretation and defense of a much neglected proof for the existence of God offered by St. Thomas Aquinas in De Ente et Essentia.

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas
Author: Christopher Martin
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2019-08-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1474470742

This path-breaking approach to Thomas Aquinas interprets the Five Ways in the context of his theory of science. Aquinas is the leading medieval philosopher and his work is of continuing contemporary relevance. Addressing all the critical themes of authority and reason, Christopher Martin examines the role of science and definitions in medieval thought, and how to deal with the big question: is there a God? Rigorous and challenging, Martin's clear exposition compares and contrasts Aquinas' arguments with those of other philosophers, Anselm, Descartes and Kant.

On Being and Essence

On Being and Essence
Author: Saint Thomas Aquinas
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 34
Release: 2017-07-28
Genre:
ISBN: 9781973972488

Because a small error in the beginning grows enormous at the end, as the Philosopher remarks in Book 1 of On the Heavens and the World, and being and essence are the first things to be conceived by our understanding, as Avicenna declares in Book 1 of his Metaphysics, in order to avoid falling into error about them, and to reveal their difficulties, we should see what are signified by the names of being and essence, how these are found in various things, and how they are related to the logical intentions of genus, species, and difference. And since we need to arrive at the cognition of simple components from the cognition of what they compose, and from those that are posterior to those that are prior, so that the discussion may suitably progress from the easier subjects, we should proceed from the signification of the name of being to the signification of the name of essence.

Aquinas’ Proofs for God’s Existence

Aquinas’ Proofs for God’s Existence
Author: D. Bonnette
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9401023808

The purpose of this study is to investigate the legitimacy of the principle, "The per accidens necessarily implies the per se," as it is found in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Special emphasis will be placed upon the function of this principle in the proofs for God's existence. The relevance of the principle in this latter context can be seen at once when it is observed that it is the key to the solution of the well known "prob lem of infinite regress. " The investigation of the principle in question will be divided into two Parts. A preliminary examination of the function of the principle will be made in Part I: Domains Other Than That of Creature-God. The domains to be considered in this Part are those of accident-substance, change, and knowledge. Employing what is learned of the function of the principle in these areas of application, Part II: The Domain of Creature-God will analyze the role of the principle in the proofs for God's existence. This latter Part will constitute the greater portion of the book, since the domain of creatures in their relation to God is the most significant application of the principle in the writings of St. Thomas. In the course of this investigation, relevant analyses by St. Thomas' commentators - both classical and contemporary - will be considered. Finally, in light of the insights offered by St.

The One Creator God in Thomas Aquinas and Contemporary Theology

The One Creator God in Thomas Aquinas and Contemporary Theology
Author: Michael J. Dodds, OP
Publisher: Catholic University of America Press
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2020-08-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0813232872

This book provides a fundamental introduction to Aquinas's theology of the One Creator God. Aimed at making that thought accessible to contemporary audiences, it gives a basic explanation of his theology while showing its compatibility with contemporary science and its relevance to current theological issues. Opening with a brief account of Aquinas’s life, it then describes the purpose and nature of the Summa Theologica and gives a short review of current varieties of Thomism. Without neglecting other works, it then focuses primarily on the discussion of the One God in the first part of the Summa Theologica. God's transcendence and immanence is a recurrent theme in that discussion. Evidence of God's immanent causality in the natural world grounds Aquinas's five arguments for the existence of God (the Five Ways) which then open onto God's transcendence. The subsequent discussion of the divine attributes builds on the modes of God's causality established in the Five Ways. It also shows the need for a language of analogy to preserve God's transcendence and prevent us from reducing God to the level of creatures, even as qualities such as "goodness" and "love," which we first know from creatures, are applied to God. The discussion of God's providence and governance establishes that the transcendent Creator God is most intimately present in creation. God acts in all creatures in a way that does not diminish their proper causality, but is rather its source. As there is no contradiction between God's transcendence and immanence, so there is no competition between the primary causality of God and the secondary causality of creatures. Empirical science, which is limited by its method to the secondary causality of creatures, is shown to be compatible with the broader discipline of theology which also embraces the primary causality of the Creator.

The Power of God

The Power of God
Author: Saint Thomas (Aquinas)
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2012-07-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0199914621

On Power (De Potentia) is one of Aquinas's ''Disputed Questions'' (a systematic series of discussions of specific theological topics). It is a text which anyone with a serious interest in Aquinas's thinking will need to read. There is, however, no English translation of the De Potentia currently in print. Fr. Richard Regan has produced this abridgement, which passes over some of the full text while retaining what seems most important when it comes to following the flow of Aquinas's thought.

Revisiting Aquinas’ Proofs for the Existence of God

Revisiting Aquinas’ Proofs for the Existence of God
Author: Robert Arp
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2016-02-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9004311580

Edited and introduced by Robert Arp, Revisiting Aquinas’ Proofs for the Existence of God is a collection of new papers written by scholars focusing on the famous Five Proofs or Ways (Quinque Viae) for the existence of God put forward by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) near the beginning of his unfinished tome, Summa Theologica. It is not an exaggeration to say that not only is Aquinas’ Summa a landmark text in the history of Western philosophy and Christianity, but also that the Five Proofs discussed therein—namely, the arguments that conclude to the Unmoved Mover, Uncaused Cause, Necessary Being, Superlative Being, and Intelligent Director—are as compelling today as they were in the 13th Century. Written in a debate format with different scholars arguing for and against each Proof, the papers in the book consist of arguments utilizing various combinations of contemporary science and philosophical ideas to bolster the positions. The result is a revisiting of Aquinas’ Proofs that is relevant, stimulating, enlightening, and refreshing.